Carlsbad Brine Well Authority strengthened by new state law

Members of the Carlsbad Brine Well Remediation Advisory Authority discuss funding for the project during a meeting, Jan. 10 at the Municipal Annex Building.(Photo: Adrian Hedden | Current-Argus)Buy Photo

The agency tasked with remediating the Carlsbad Brine Well was given additional teeth, after Gov. Susana Martinez signed state legislation to provide the Carlsbad Brine Well Remediation Authority with the powers needed to execute the project.

House Bill 319, sponsored by State Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R-55) and signed by Martinez on Wednesday, gives the Authority the right to negotiate and execute contracts related to the project.

An emergency clause in the bill forced it to go into effect immediately after Martinez signed.

"We're very pleased," Brown said of the governor's approval. "The bill is very important because it gives the Authority duties and powers to actually manage remediation."

The law also defined the Authority as a division of the state's Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), increasing the state department's oversight of the project.

It also moved the Brine Well Remediation Fund into the State Treasury to be administered by EMNRD.

This, Brown said, allows the Authority to pull $30 million allocated through Senate Bill 226, signed during the last state legislative session, from the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

SB 226 redirected the State's vehicle excise tax, paid when purchasing vehicles, from the General Fund into the State Road Fund.

The move was intended to generate $10 million per year for the remediation fund, and would revert back to the NMDOT following the three-year sunset.

The Authority will use the remediation fund "to the extent that revenues are available" to pay for remediation efforts or to acquire property near the well if needed.

"Without this legislation, it would have been unclear how the money would be spent, and who would do the contracting," Brown said.

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Ken McQueen, New Mexico Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources secretary, will be the speaker for the New Mexico Business Coalition’s Energy BASH event on Thursday at the Courtyard by Marriott in Farmington.(Photo: Daily Times file photo)

The bill also expanded the scope of potential funding sources to include donations and other non-governmental entities.

The Authority must also report its spending practices to the the State's Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Interim Committee each year until it is terminated in 2025, as stipulated by the law.

Authority membership is unchanged, aside from appointing EMNRD Cabinet Secretary Ken McQueen, or a designee to chair the committee, read the bill.

"I look forward to chairing the Authority," McQueen said. "The remediation effort will be the responsibility of the entire Authority with input from its sub-committees and contractors. This is absolutely the correct path forward and should result in the best outcome for our citizens."

Notably, the word "advisory" was stripped from the group's title, as it is intended to now become a "true" Authority instead of mere advisory board, Brown said.

The change comes about six months before the planned July 1 start date of the project to back fill the decommissioned former brine well, preventing what could be a catastrophic collapse.

Carlsbad Brine Well Authority designee John Heaton addresses the Radioactive and Hazardous Waste Legislative Committee Friday in Carlsbad. Heaton assured the committee that an emergency management plan was in place to respond to a collapse of the brine well.(Photo: Courtesy Photo)

The well is situated directly beneath the junction of U.S. Highway 285 and U.S. Highway 62/180, one of the city's busiest roadways known for heavy industrial truck traffic to and from the oilfields in southern Eddy County.

The collapse could also interrupt the Carlsbad Irrigation District's main canal for up to 3 years, ceasing water deliveries to hundreds of southern Eddy County farmers.

In total, experts said the collapse could cause up to $1 billion in damaged infrastructure, lost revenue and litigation.

The incident would also likely prove fatal to nearby residents.

Contract negotiations for the remediation project are ongoing, Brown said, and confidential until the contract is signed.

"This was the last piece of legislation that was essential," Brown said. "All this work will not amount to anything if we don't prevent the collapse."

McQueen said the Authority will likely continue to meet in Carlsbad.

Read the bill:

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.